Mumford & Sons

One of the most successful acts to come out of the first decade of
the 21st century's English folk revival, London's Mumford &
Sons' agreeable fusion of bluegrass, folk, country, and rock found
favor with audiences both at home and abroad. Formed in 2007 by
singer/guitarist/drummer Marcus Mumford, vocalist and banjo/Dobro
player Winston Marshall, vocalist/keyboardist Ben Lovett, and
vocalist/bassist Ted Dwane, the quartet bonded over their shared
love of roots music -- their moniker is meant to invoke the
impression of an antiquated family business name. At that time the
West London folk scene was becoming increasingly vibrant with the
arrival of fellow new traditionalists like Laura Marling, Noah and
the Whale, and Johnny Flynn. In 2008 the band played their first
Glastonbury Festival and released their debut EP, Love Your Ground.
A 2009 follow-up EP, Cave and the Open Sea, caught the attention
Island Records, and more importantly, Arcade Fire producer Markus
Dravs, who would go on to helm the band's debut long-player, the
Mercury Prize-shortlisted Sigh No More. It was issued a year later
in America and Canada on the Glassnote Records label and sold over
a million copies between the two countries, earning Grammy Award
nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song. They performed
at the ceremony as well, delivering a spirited version of "The
Cave" and then backed Bob Dylan on a generation-spanning rendition
of "Maggie's Farm." Their 2012 Dravs-produced sophomore outing,
Babel, debuted at number one on the U.K. Albums Chart and the U.S.
Billboard 200, and eventually took home that year's Grammy Award
for Album of the Year. Recorded live over two nights at Colorado's
legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the band's first live
film/recording, Road to Red Rocks, followed in late 2012, but after
wrapping up their massive international tour in support of Babel,
the group members declared that they would be going on an
indefinite hiatus. In early 2015, the band announced both a return
to the stage and plans to release a new album. The resulting James
Ford-produced Wilder Mind, the group's third studio long-player and
most stylistically diverse outing to date, arrived in early May of
that year, and charted at number one in seven countries. The
following year, during their South African tour, they recorded an
EP in collaboration with Baaba Maal, the Very Best, and Beatenberg.
The resulting Johannesburg, named after the city where it was
recorded, featured their Record Store Day 2016 single "There Will
Be Time" and saw release in June. After returning to the studio,
the band emerged in 2018 with the single "Guiding Light," the first
offering from their fourth effort, Delta, which was released later
that year. ~ James Christopher Monger